I am 82 years old and my wife 72. Both of us are diabetic; and I am a chronic heart patient for the last 25 years, having undergone two bypass surgeries and five angioplasty procedures. Without doubt I am in the most vulnerable category for COVID-19.
When the nation-wide lockdown began in March, we were wondering how we would manage the first phase without our cook and housemaid. Even before we could think hard about the challenge ahead of us, the next morning my daughter and son-in-law came to pick us up from our house at Gopalapuram.
We packed ourselves to Adyar but never imagined that we would have to stay there for such a long time. I am missing the excitement of meeting friends, making those trips to the grocery and vegetable shops, the morning walk – but the lockdown has taught me to adapt to the new normal.
The terrace is my new walkway where I spend more than one-and-a-half hours walking, interspersed with surya yoga (looking at the sun within one hour of sun rise) and acupuncture exercises such as clapping 100 times.
I am so accustomed to walking with friends that doing the solo-walk was at first not that motivating, but I have overcome that now.
Before lockdown, I was attending Sanskrit classes and now, I have been refreshing the lessons by attending online classes and with some books.
Other things I have adapted to: Initially, I was my own hairdresser, trimming my hair myself — hardly, a challenging task, as I am almost bald. One day, my daughter trimmed it in such a way that I would not have to worry about having a haircut for the next two months.
My reading and movie-watching lists have grown longer. If I have sailed through this crisis then it is because of the new activities I have discovered. Yes, of course my daughter, her father-in-law who is 92 years old and my son-in-law are crucial players in this. We are one joint family.
(R. T. Namasivayam is Vice President, Federation of Senior Citizens’ Associations of Tamilnadu)